Queen conch, Lobatus gigas, is a marine snail with an iconic shell that serves as a culinary staple in The Bahamas. However, thousands of years of exploitation in the greater Caribbean region has had clear impacts on conch abundances. If queen conch populations in The Bahamas continue to decline, scientists warn the inevitable end to economically viable conch fishing if actions are not taken to allow the conch stocks to recover. Published in the scientific journal, Reviews in Fisheries Science and Aquaculture, the study documents population changes associated with heavy fishing and provides recommendations to rehabilitate the Bahamian queen conch stock based on surveys and evaluations conducted by Community Conch and Chicago’s Shedd Aquarium.

The science of training and behavior is an essential part of excellent animal care. Training and enrichment provide the animals with mental stimulation and physical exercise as well as help Shedd’s highly trained staff deliver exceptional care by making the animals active participants in the process.

The recent opening of the new Franciscan Health Michigan City hospital also meant the transition from a location where mothers had given birth for more than a century. For many of these years, Brahms Lullaby would play hospital-wide to signal that a new life had entered the world.

Chicago residents will have plenty of chances to swap the cold this January and February to explore the toasty Amazon Rising habitat where red-bellied piranhas live or spend time in the Caribbean Reef with Nickel the sea turtle. That’s because Shedd Aquarium is offering 25 Illinois Resident Free Days during the first two months of the year.

Ring in the new year with new resolutions that benefit both humans and the planet we live on! Whether it's spending more time outdoors, reaching out to government officials to speak up for our planet’s wildlife or reducing your use of single-use plastic, Shedd Aquarium’s conservation experts are offering a few resolutions you can take on in 2019.

We published hundreds of articles on the LaPorteCountyLife Community Section this past year. Massive community gatherings, veteran stories, and much more was fair game for sharing! With so many notable events in Northwest Indiana, it’s no wonder we had so many stories to choose from!

For more than a decade, Shedd Aquarium’s Animal Health team has turned to Northwestern Engineering to develop innovative solutions that further enhance Shedd’s animal welfare practices. But, for the first time this year, the aquarium’s conservation scientists have been proposing projects to the students that advance their ability to conduct research to protect populations of animals in the wild. This expansion to the partnership aides Shedd’s field research in the Great Lakes basin and in the Caribbean region while offering engineering students an opportunity to get their hands wet creating prototype technology for real-life challenges that come while studying animals in nature.

On a bright and snowy Sunday morning, Sand Creek Country Club in Chesterton hosted a beloved tradition: Brunch with Santa. Club members enjoyed this merry event with family and friends and grew excited for Christmas day.

Shedd Aquarium’s Daniel P. Haerther Center for Conservation and Research welcomed a new conservation research biologist this month, expanding the aquarium’s dedication to understanding and conserving aquatic species and ecosystems. Ross Cunning, Ph.D. joins the aquarium’s marine research team as a coral research biologist and will begin studying coral reefs in The Bahamas in the spring of 2019 to understand how to sustain coral reef ecosystems in the face of a changing climate.